Advancing Sustainability Education

Last week, I was fortunate enough to catch up with Guillermo and some of the other IN4RF members who told us about plans to create a learning expereince program. Students and teachers will travel to different countries to expereince interdisciplinary opportunties at different univeristies. Teahcers and students will be able to take part in a learning exchange expereince about rengenrative futures. Recently, teachers at University of Glasgow & Polytechnic University of Valencia collobrated on the design and facilitation of an innovative approach to regentrative learning expereinces. Below is some more about this event:

We are excited to share highlights from the recent Global Student Mobility Programme, an intensive and immersive educational experience co-organised by Lovleen, Paulina, Geetha and Guillermo at the Polytechnic University of Valencia. This innovative programme brought together a group of seven interdisciplinary and multicultural undergraduate students from the University of Glasgow to explore crucial themes such as regional development, sustainability and socio-environmental justice in the context of recent floods in Valencia.

Students engaged through a mix of theoretical grounding, practical fieldwork and co-creative learning experiences.

The 5-day programme, Resilient Futures: Creative Solutions for Flood Recovery in La Albufera Natural Park, Valencia, unfolded over five dynamic sessions that combined academic depth with real-world learning. Each day featured hands-on activities, playful icebreakers to build respect and collaboration, and dedicated time for meaningful reflection using creative tools like Miro and LEGO® Serious Play, that helped unlock creative thinking and deepen group dialogue around resilience and recovery.

• Session 1: Students were introduced to the programme’s goals and methodology. They also received training in hydrology and the specific characteristics of the area around Valencia delivered by Jordi Peris Blanes and Paolo Vezza, gaining a deeper understanding of local water systems and flood dynamics. The session also explored governance-related issues and the real-world challenges offering a practical perspective on the complexities of coordinating responses and implementing sustainable solutions at the local level.
• Session 2: A technical visit to Albufera Natural Park offered direct exposure to environmental management and conservation opportunities and challenges after floods within a protected ecosystem, reinforcing earlier theoretical discussions.

• Session 3: Students explored key concepts such as theory of change, systems thinking and socio-environmental justice. Cristina Chaminade introduced concepts of sustainability transitions and transformations, along with case studies on regenerative sustainable development innovations and transformations worldwide. They also learned participatory mapping, stakeholder analysis, and used Lego® Serious Play® method to communicate ideas creatively.
• Session 4: Groups synthesised their learning and experiences to begin developing interdisciplinary proposals that address regional and environmental challenges. They explored practical solutions rooted in the local context and based on what they had learned and developed. The outcome of this activity was the selection of their group challenge for presentation.
• Session 5: Students were exposed to the concept of prototyping and prepared their presentations. The programme concluded with presentations and group discussions, fostering collective reflection and critical thinking. At the end of the presentations, the students enjoyed an authentic paella experience with Ángel Costa!

Lovleen, Paulina and Geetha would like to extend their heartfelt thanks to Guillermo for his leadership and hospitality, and to everyone from the Polytechnic University of Valencia who contributed to making this programme possible and impactful. This collaboration highlights the power of IN4RF in advancing and transforming higher education and sustainable development across borders. It also reflects the strength of the bond we have created throughout our journey so far.

As one student commented, “I didn’t expect to learn so much in such a short period of time, but I also didn’t expect how much I would enjoy it.” We believe this sentiment reflects how each of us feels about IN4RF.

The IN4RF have continued to show great support in this exciting community of outstanding teachers that have already achieved so much and plan for so much more in the near future. Recently, JoJo earned a Doctorate in Educational Leadership from Harvard University, where their capstone explored how networks can catalyze systems-level transformation. Also, Pablo Aránguiz defended his doctoral thesis at the Universitat Politècnica de València, about “Transcending Borders Through Relational Pedagogies”. Sophia Munden graduated from Arcadia University to go to find full-time employment in media work. Finally, Rohan Choudhary recently joined TATA Steel as Manager IT – Sustainability Data Solutions, where he works to bridge technical innovation with environmental action across industrial operations. Simultaneously, he is collaborating as a Climate Impact Research Fellow with MIT, focusing on climate vulnerability modeling and policy translation, presenting his work next month at CARMA 2025 in Rome, Italy.

As the academic year draws to a close, I would like to thank everyone for your continued support and inspiration in facilitating such wonderful projects. There are so many great plans for the new academic year, with new seed projects, teacher conferences and learning expereinces, and for the following years to come. I’m looking forward to catching up with you all soon and for now wish you all a very happy holiday break in the coming months.